


Waiting in the Rain

by jyudolovemail



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Kisses, Light Character Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-01 12:36:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18334595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jyudolovemail/pseuds/jyudolovemail
Summary: “Though, I think I have a new memory to add to the list.”That smile sent butterflies straight to Ryuji’s stomach, his face hot. Yusuke’s smiles always made him weak, as sappy as it was.“Y-Yeah?” he said, attempting to keep himself together. “And what would that be?”Without hesitation, Yusuke replied, “The two of us trapped in a phone booth as we wait out the rain."





	Waiting in the Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! I actually started this fic over a year ago and finally managed to finish it lmao. Yusuke and Ryuji are two of my fave characters in p5 so what else to do than ship them? They're so cute!! Also thank you so much to [Chrome](https://twitter.com/chromiekins) who was still willing to beta this after offering so long ago lmaoo and to [Robyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/weaselcries) as well!! I wuv u both uwu <3  
> Anyways, enjoy!!

With heavy steps, Ryuji made his way to the only shelter he could make out in the sudden downpour. It looked like everyone else had the same idea, just about every storefront with an awning in the area packed full of people without umbrellas. There were a few stragglers who continued to run off to their destinations, their heads covered with briefcases and other random objects. He would’ve done the same had he been alone, but well, he wasn’t.

He pushed the glass door of the phone booth open in a haste. Yusuke followed not too long after as he rushed to protect what was in his hands. The space immediately became cramped with the two of them inside, long limbs, pointy paint brushes and canvases pressed flush against his skin. It wasn't his top pick for a place to hide, but they didn’t have much choice unless they wanted to get soaked.

"Holy shit," Ryuji panted, wiping the droplets off his face, "That's some intense rain!"

After he’d collected himself, Yusuke offered a nod in response. "Indeed. It seems I made a mistake in neglecting to check the weather reports before I left the house."

"Heh, same here." Silence filled the booth as the two of them caught their breath. The state of the weather only seemed to worsen with every passing minute. Ryuji could feel himself deflate with each patter of rain to the window, every drop of water sliding down the glass. This was  _ not  _ what he had in mind for a Saturday afternoon. "Damn, when's this shit gonna let up?!" he complained, a frown on his face. “I can’t believe this!”

"It's only been raining a short time, Ryuji,” Yusuke replied. “Be patient."

"Patient?" Ryuji repeated, sounding taken aback. "I was patient the entire day and now look what happened! If only you hadn't taken so long with that damn painting of yours!"

With that, Ryuji received an admonishing tone, "You cannot rush art, Ryuji."

"Yeah, I got that," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You only said it every time I told your ass to hurry up and get ready. Then you had to go and drag us into that art store even though you’re broke!" Ryuji pointed at the offending items in Yusuke’s hands.

His last comment went ignored when Yusuke replied, "Perhaps now that you know, you'll keep to yourself when I'm painting next time."

"Dude, quit acting like I bother you all the time!" Noting the skeptical look on Yusuke's face, Ryuji backtracked, "Okay, but this time was different! We were supposed to meet up with everyone and now we're late."

"I don't see what the problem is, I'm sure they'll understand."

"That's not the point," With a sigh, Ryuji slumped in on himself. "I was  _ so _ gonna beat Futaba in that game she got and now she's probably going on about how I showed up late because I was scared or something."

"Are you?"

"Hell no!"

Again, the two fell silent as they listened to the pitter patter of the rain. The frown on Ryuji’s face only deepened as he waited, his brows furrowed. 

He hated how gloomy the sky would get and how the town somehow felt muted. It was as though he were all alone despite being surrounded by so many people – like he was being drowned.

It only got worse with the way it made his leg ache, a jarring reminder of what he wanted to forget the most. He had gotten over it – mostly – but it was a wound that would never  _ truly  _ heal. He would move on, just as he always did, but it would always be there, lurking.

Ryuji hated the rain.

“Ryuji,” Yusuke called, pulling him from his thoughts, which he was grateful for.  _ Thank god.  _ Did he always need to get so damn depressing when it rained? It annoyed the hell out of him.

“What’s up?”

“Your leg,” was all Yusuke offered.

It caused his eyes to widen immediately.  _ Does he know? _ He hadn’t told anyone about how the rain made it ache, not even Akira, but maybe Yusuke could tell somehow. He may not have been the best at social cues – not that Ryuji could talk – but he had that weird artist mind of his. It wasn’t entirely unlikely he’d figure it out. Ryuji  _ was  _ an open book, after all.

“Could you quit bouncing it? It’s quite bothersome to deal with in such a small space.”

Ryuji blinked in surprise at the request, the words unexpected.

_ Hah? _

Confused, Ryuji met Yusuke’s gaze. Or at least, he had expected to, except for the fact that Yusuke’s eyes were currently trained on his leg. He hadn’t noticed, but it looked like he had started to bounce it amidst all his overthinking.

“Ah, sorry about that,” he said, somehow embarrassed. “It’s a habit.”

“Are you anxious?” Yusuke asked, unphased. “I’ve noticed you tend to do it whenever you’re stressed, particularly when studying for exams.”

_ He noticed that?  _ Lamely, Ryuji’s face flushed. He couldn’t believe he was embarrassed over Yusuke noticing something like that, but he couldn’t help it. Yusuke was always so involved in his art that he may have occasionally,  _ slightly _ felt deprived of attention from his boyfriend. It was simple, but he was happy that Yusuke had paid enough attention to him to notice something so small.

“It always messes up my sketches when we’re at Boss’s place,” Yusuke’s hand was on his chin now, his eyes shut as he nodded. “You always sit so close to me, after all.”

It was times like these that Ryuji wondered why he had to fall for someone like this.

“You little!” he blurted, suddenly upset. He had really gone and gotten happy over  _ nothing.  _ In a fit, he brought himself closer to Yusuke, their faces only inches apart. “If it bothers you so much, no one’s makin’ you sit by me, ya know!”

Taken aback, Yusuke’s eyes widened. “Why are you upset?”

“I don’t know!” Frazzled, Ryuji ran his hand through his hair. As if it wasn’t hard enough for him to keep himself in check in general, the rain only tended to make his outbursts worse. “I just… don’t like the rain, is all. So that’s probably why.”

“I see,” Yusuke said, his voice thoughtful. “Most people find it to be relaxing. Do you not?”

“N-Nah,” he said, voice low. “Makes me feel shitty, I guess.” He wanted to leave things off there, but his mouth moved without conscious effort. “It’s kinda like… It makes me feel all alone or somethin’.” It felt lame to say out loud and Ryuji felt oddly exposed as he continued to speak, “It reminds me of things I want to forget… and I hate it.”

Yusuke didn’t answer him immediately and the silence stretched for what felt like hours. It filled him with anxiety as he awaited Yusuke’s response. Had he said too much? Maybe Yusuke didn’t want to know all that and he’d gone and poured all his problems onto others again.  _ Me and my big mouth. _ If Yusuke hadn’t just made a comment about it, he would’ve been bouncing his leg like crazy right about now.

“I think I can understand,” Yusuke said belatedly. “When I still lived with Madarame, the rain always seemed to make the situation I was in feel worse.” Ryuji’s eyes locked on Yusuke’s as he spoke, taking the information in. “My art always helped me through things, but the rain… It was as though it seeped into it, whispered all the things I tried to push away.”

Ryuji’s heart beat fast at Yusuke’s confession. He had heard Yusuke talk about his time with Madarame on numerous occasions, but this was the first he’d heard him talk about the rain like this.

"While rain can bring comfort to some, I believe it can pull out the sorrow as well," Yusuke’s eyes seemed distant as he continued his story, “but I’ve grown to like the rain, as of late.”

“Really?” Ryuji asked, curious. “How?”

Yusuke’s gaze seemed to return to the present with that question. “It’s something all of you taught me: to fill my life and my art with the memories you all bring me, rather than to focus on past hauntings. My art had always been a means of survival – it still is, of course – but I’ve started to learn how to love it as something more than that, once again.”

_ A means of survival… _ That was another thing that struck a chord with Ryuji. He didn’t have the best grades and his temper wasn’t great, but track was the one thing he had potential in when it came to school. He wanted to make his mom proud and get a scholarship, do  _ something  _ with his life, but that had all been taken from him.

It was more than just the friends and reputation he’d lost, but the future he wanted for himself and for his mother, too. A scholarship would’ve allowed her to take it easy for once in her life, to give her some time to worry about herself rather than others. It had taken a long time for him to accept that he’d lost that opportunity for the both of them, and it still hurt to think of today.

“The key is to picture all the experiences we’ve had together, big or small. It doesn’t fix everything, but it helps. I find it brings me solace, at least temporarily.”

“You think of us when you feel down?” Ryuji asked, touched. Yusuke could be hard to read sometimes, so he had no idea he relied on something like that. It was actually… kind of cute.

“Of course,” Yusuke said with a nod. “For example, whenever I go to LeBlanc in the rain, Akira fixes me a special brew of coffee while Morgana lounges by the window… I tend to think of that when I’m unable to visit in the rain. It’s quite a comforting thought.” Yusuke paused, before he continued, a small smile on his face. “Though, I think I have a new memory to add to the list.”

That smile sent butterflies straight to Ryuji’s stomach, his face hot. Yusuke’s smiles always made him weak, as sappy as it was.

“Y-Yeah?” he said, attempting to keep himself together. “And what would that be?”

Without hesitation, Yusuke replied, “The two of us trapped in a phone booth as we wait out the rain."

“What?! You’re gonna think of  _ this? _ ” Ryuji asked, slightly disappointed. To be stuck in the rain in a cramped and now humid phone booth wasn’t exactly the most ideal memory, in his book. “C’mon, dude! Don’t you have any better memories between us?”

“I do,” Yusuke hummed, humored in Ryuji’s reaction. “Though I think this is a new favorite. I quite enjoy talking about such personal things with you, it’s freeing in a sense.”

“Well, I guess that’s true,” Embarrassed, Ryuji pursed his lips in a pout. He may not have liked the rain aspect or that they were stuck in such a small space, but like Yusuke had said, it was… nice. Everyone in the Phantom Thieves had something that tied them all together, but somehow this felt more intimate. Like a secret connection for just the two of them. “I like talking to you about this kinda stuff, too.”

“Splendid,” Yusuke said. Another one of those smiles tugged at his lips then, before he spoke in a lower voice, “You know, I think I had been paying attention to my art far too much today…” he trailed off, before he peered down at Ryuji with heavy lidded eyes, “I forgot how striking you look up close.”

“W-What the–!” Ryuji’s face burned at the compliment. “The fuck you sayin’ all of a sudden, man!?”

“Is there a problem?” Yusuke looked genuinely perplexed, unaware that he had just about murdered his boyfriend.

“Hell yeah, there is! You can’t just go sayin’ stuff like that all of a sudden!” Ryuji said, insistent. “’Sides, I’m not… striking. I’m normal.”

Out of all the guys in their friend group, Ryuji was probably the one  _ farthest  _ from being labeled as such.

Yusuke tilted his head as he took in Ryuji’s reaction, doubtful at Ryuji’s words. It caused his bangs to fall across his face, the usually tidy locks now unkempt. Without conscious thought, Ryuji’s hand moved to fix it. He swept his fingers across the middle of Yusuke’s forehead towards the side of his face, tucking the silky strands behind Yusuke’s ear.

It brought their faces even closer and Ryuji’s heart just about popped out his chest when grey eyes locked on his own. Ryuji was suddenly very conscious of how close they were and just how small the phone booth really was. It had been an annoyance just moments before, but now Ryuji was almost thankful. Yusuke was right, he _had_ been paying attention to his art too much today.

Ryuji had ached to be close to Yusuke like this all day, but had done his best to restrain himself. He knew how important his work was to him, so Ryuji didn’t want to interrupt. It had taken some time to get to this point, but he was a lot better at giving him space than he used to be.

Ryuji didn’t know how he had been able to do so however, when they were together like this. Even a minute felt too long to be away from Yusuke as they peered at each other, their faces close.  _ Ah, jeez.  _ Since when did he get so clingy?

On instinct, the two of them moved closer still. Their eyes were lidded until they came together in a soft press of lips, eyes fluttering closed at the tender action. Ryuji’s whole body filled with electricity, satisfied. He craved Yusuke’s touch and was pleased when Yusuke laid his hand on top of his own as he pressed deeper into the kiss.

A few more pecks, and Ryuji had become dizzy with affection. He couldn’t help the goofy grin that bloomed on his face when they finally pulled back, both of their cheeks red with embarrassment.

Yusuke answered his grin with a small smile of his own, his free hand now on Ryuji’s cheek as he caressed it. “Not such a bad memory is it now, Ryuji?”

With a chuckle, Ryuji rested his forehead on Yusuke’s own. “Heh, guess not.” He shut his eyes in bliss before he opened them again, their gazes locked. “I think it could still get better, though.”

Yusuke hummed at that, pleased with the suggestion. “I suppose I’ll have to live up to that expectation, then…”

With one more press of lips, Ryuji couldn’t help but smile into the kiss.

Maybe the rain wasn’t so bad, after all.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for making it to the end of this fic! I hope you enjoyed and any comments are appreciated <3


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